Fall Playdate

Last week we hosted a Fall Playdate for our playgroup.  The leaves here in the Mid-Atlantic are absolutely gorgeous this time of year.  The maples are yellow and orange, the oaks are red, and the occasional dash of pine makes the view from our house a multicolored rhapsody for the eyes.  The large picture windows in our family room frame a beautiful view of our yard and the adjacient parkland, and the falling leaves are a relaxing background to our days.

This week was our turn to host playdate, and so my thoughts naturally turned to Widget’s love of trees and the wealth of resources just outside our window.  The plan was three-fold, with something for everyone in our group, from the littlest babies to the smart-as-a-whip 3.5 year olds. 

First, we’d start with an active romp outdoors, climbing up and sliding down the playset, pretending to mow or weedeat the yard, rolling around in/on the toy cars, and generally being the fun-loving toddlers that they are.  While out, each kid would be encouraged to collect leaves or sticks that particularly catch their eye.  We have several collectors in our group who do this anyway, and they would particularly enjoy this.  I had set out buckets for them to use, and set aside a stash of pretty leaves from around the neighborhood for those too busy playing to collect.

Second, we’d read a book about trees.  I had the Dr. Seuss book I mentioned in the previous post at the ready but encouraged our friends to bring their own to share.  Admittedly, this was a sneaky way to stimulate conversation among the moms about learning resources.  Luckily, this is a great and very bright group of moms, who responded positively and each brought their favorite book.  We had Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree, a Winne the Pooh Fall Crafts book, and a couple more that didn’t make it out of the stroller bags because we were having too much fun.

The third part of the playdate would be crafts.  The large train table slash dance floor slash jumping board was cleared off as we did for the watercolor playdate, and the gardening playdate with paper, crayons, and colored pencils scattered around the edges for the kids to use.  The older kids would do leaf rubbings, and the little kids could glue leaves to colored paper.  Over by the couch (where I could supervise more closely), there was a four-foot cardboard tree that Daddy and I had cut out that morning and decorated with markers.  This would be used to talk about the parts of a tree and then for the kids to tape the leaves and sticks that they collected outside on to the branches, creating their own tree and a delightful mess at the same time.  It was a different idea, and one that I hoped would capture their imaginations. 

The tree was a big hit, as all the kids were instantly curious about it when they walked in the door.  However, the rest of the playdate didn’t quite go as planned.  All 3 of our 3 year olds were home sick that day, and the 1s and new 2s had so much fun running around the yard in the unseasonably warm weather that I just couldn’t bear to bring them inside to do crafts after all.  The playdate ended early, with one hungry, one tired, one teething, and the baby refusing to nap amidst the toddlers playing.  But the kids played outside and enjoyed the leaves, the moms got to talk about what really matters (lack of sleep, part-time work, and an eating dilemna), and everyone napped well after they got home.

A successful playdate, if not exactly as I had envisioned.